Australian Internet Service Provider (ISP) filtering

Part of the Australian Government’s Cyber-safety plan is the introduction of Internet Service Provider (ISP) level filtering. The policy reflects the view that ISPs should take some responsibility for enabling the blocking of ‘prohibited’ material on the internet, as they do in a number of western, developed countries.

The Government’s election commitment was that filtering would block content using a blacklist of prohibited sites maintained by the This link sends you off DBCDE’s websiteAustralian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) in accordance with legislation. The ACMA blacklist is a list of internet web sites, predominantly comprising images of the sexual abuse of children, which are defined as ‘prohibited’ under Australian legislation which has been in place since 2000.

Consideration is also being given to more sophisticated filtering techniques for those individual families who wish to exclude additional online content in their own homes.

The Government’s approach will be informed by the filtering technologies adopted in countries such as the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Canada where ISP filtering, predominantly of child pornography, has been successfully introduced without affecting internet performance to a noticeable level.

The Government’s ISP filtering policy is being developed through an informed and considered approach, including industry consultation and close examination of overseas models to assess their suitability for Australia.
Internet Industry Association Feasibility Study – ISP Level Content Filtering

The former Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts contracted the Internet Industry Association to undertake a feasibility study into internet service provider (ISP) level filtering.